Musical instrument

ABSTRACT

A musical percussion instrument including a container enclosing pellets and a set of jingles, the container and jingles so arranged as to permit selective sound generation from the container and pellets or from the jingles depending upon the directions in which the instrument is shaken.

United States Patent 72] Inventor William Gussak [56] References Citedc/o M. Glamer, 57 Broad Lawn Park, UNITED STATES PATENTS [2]] App! Nogm' 'g 2167 1,468,026 9/1923 Levy 46/192 a Filed y 29 1969 3,439,5724/1969 Cohen 84/402 [45] Patented Mar. 2, 1971 Primary Examiner- RichardB. Wilkinson Assistant Examiner- Lawrence, R. Franklin Attorney-Wolf,Greenfield & Hieken [54] MUSICAL INSTRUMENT 10 Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.[52] [1.8. CI 84/402, ABSTRACT: A musical percussion instrumentincluding a 84/418, 46/ 191, 46/193 container enclosing pellets and aset of jingles, the container [51] Int. Cl. Gl0d 13/00 and jingles soarranged as to permit selective sound generation [50] Field of Search84/402, from the container and pellets or frorn the jinglesdependingupon the direqiQnsin whichthe' instrument is shaken.

Patented March 2, 1971 3,566,737

50 33 Fur; y

Q0 M [24 Q (26 24) $50 22 INVENTOR WILLIAM GUSSAK FIG. 3

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Musical instrumentsemploying loose metallic discs or jingles together with anothersound-producing element have been constructed before (e.g. thetambourine, a one-headed drum with jingles attached to the periphery).Other instruments have been constructed operating upon the principle ofpellets enclosed in a resonant container which when shaken sounds fromthe impact of the pellets upon the inner walls of the container (e.g.certain gourd instruments). Such devices are limited in the relation ofsounds that may be simultaneously emitted from the different componentsof the instrument and in some instances are limited in theselectivity ofsounds that can be generated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is thus an object of this invention toprovide a percussion instrument which is capable of generating a'plurality of percussion sounds in selective combination and incontrolled sequence and volume.

A further object of this invention is to provide a unique percussioninstrument which is easy to master and play and is capable of generatingthree unique sound patterns.

A further object of the invention is to provide an instrument which,when shaken, produces either of three distinct sounds depending upon thedirection of shaking. Other objects are to provide such an instrumentwhich is compact enough to be played with one hand, which requires noseparate control to be operated in order to switch from one sound to theother,

which produces sounds that arepleasing to the listener, and which issimple and economical to manufacture.

The invention features a container enclosing pellets which strike thecontainer walls when the instrument is shaken in one orientation and aset of jingles which sound when the instrument is shaken in a secondorientation normal to the first. In the preferredembodiment thecontainer is elongated and generally cylindrical so that the pelletsstrike the end walls (producing sounds upon impact) when the instrumentis shaken axially or rocked so that gravity produces end impacts and thejingles are mounted upon pins oriented perpendicular to the cylinderaxis so that when the instrument is shaken parallel to the pins thejingles ring, but the pellets roll upon the cylinder sidewalls ratherthan striking the endwalls. This arrangement permits the musician toproduce rhythmic sounds from either the pellets, the jingles, or both,depending only upon the manner in which the instrument is shaken.

Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will beapparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment of theinvention and from the attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view partially insection of the entire instrument according to the invention; i

FIG. 2 is a top plan view with portions fragmented;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary plan view of a detail of the inventron.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings,the instrument includes three major components: a cylindrical pelletcontainer 22, and two jingle support frames 24. These three componentsare secured together in spaced relationship by end braces 26 and a rod'28 which passes through the end braces and holds them against oppositeends of the container and the jingle support frames.

Each of the jingle support frames 24 is an elongated rectangular framehaving spaced parallel sidewalls 30 joined by integral end portions 32and defining a central slot 33. Within this central slot are four pairsof jingles40 spaced longitudinally one from another. The jingles aremounted to the sidewalls 30 by means of pins 42 passing through holes atthe center of the jingles and secured at their ends in the sidewalls 30.

The size and shape of the jingles determine the quality-of the emittedsound. By shaping the jingles so that the points of mutual impact 36 arenear the periphery of the jingles and so that the area of contact 38with the frames 24 is minimized, excessive damping of the sound isavoided. The jingles are free to slide axially and to tilt upon pins 42(which fit loosely) and to strike each other when the instrument isshaken in directions having components parallel to the pins 42.

embodiment, the pellets are metal shot, and thepellet container isformed of plastic tin or any other tubular sound device. The materialand dimensions of the container and the size of the shot may be variedin accordance with the desired quality of sound. 7

In addition the combination of a plastic sidewall over which the pelletsslide and the metal end plate upon which the pellets impact when theinstrument is shaken in a direction having a component lengthwise of thecontainer 22 generates an enhancing and novel sound which is capable ofthree significant rhythmic variances.

The braces 26 may be suitably formed of metal and provide brackets 50designed to receive ends of the frames 24 in spaced relation. A bracket51 on each brace 26 is designed to receive an end of container 22. Thesebrackets 50 and 51 are commonly supported by the interconnecting web 52through which the ends of rod 28 may extend and be removably secured.The rod 28 may comprise for this purpose a. nut and bolt arrangement asillustrated in FIG..2. By providing such an arrangement the instrumentmay be quickly disassembled for' purposes of substituting differentquantities or types of pellets 45 to obtain different sounds.

The instrument may be held by the container 22 and shaken in a varietyof directions so as to impact the-jingles or the pellets against eachother or against their supporting members successively or simultaneouslyin controlled relative volume and time periods.

It is evident that those skilled in the art may now make numerous usesand modifications of and departures from the specific embodimentdescribed herein without departing from the inventive concepts.Consequently, the invention is to be construed as embracing each andevery novel feature and novel combination of features present in orpossessed by the apparatus and techniques herein disclosed and limitedsolely by the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Iclaim:

1. A musical instrument comprising:

a closed container having a plurality of loose elements containedtherein and adapted when said instrument is shaken to strike theinterior surface ofsaid container and to generate a first sound;

a plurality of jingles and means supporting said jingles in a pluralityof pairs with said jingles adapted when shaken to generate a secondsound; and

means securing said jingle supporting means to said closed container.

2. The musical instrument of claim I wherein said closed container iselongated and said jingle support means secure said jingles for shakingmovement in directions substantially normal to the length of saidcontainer. 3. The musical instrument of claim 2 wherein said pairs ofjingles are arranged laterally to the length of said closed containerand in spaced relationship thereto.

4. The musical instrument of claim I wherein said closed.

container is cylindrical and said jingle support means secure.

5. The musical instrument of claim 1 wherein said jingle support meanscomprise an elongated frame having spaced sidewalls and a plurality ofsaid pairs of jingles are positioned between said sidewalls andsupported upon pins extending through said pairs of jingles and havingends secured to said sidewalls.

6. The musical instrument of claim 5 wherein said means securing saidjingle support means to said container comprises a pair of end bracespositioned at opposite ends of said jingle support means, each of saidbraces having means for. engaging and supporting said container and saidjingle support means in fixed relation to one another.

7. The musical instrument of claim 6 further comprising an elongated rodextending longitudinally through said end braces and holding said endbraces in engagement with said container and said jingle support means.

8. The musical instrument "of claim 1 wherein said container is soshaped internally that said instrument may be shaken in directions suchas to cause said jingles to sound with causing said loose elements tostrike any interior surfaces of said container with sufficient velocitynormal to said surfaces to produce appreciable striking sounds.

9. The musical instrument of claim 1 wherein said jingles are so mountedthat said instrument may be shaken in directions such as to cause saidloose elements to hit the interior surfaces to produce appreciablestriking sounds without causing said jingles to generate appreciablejingle sounds.

10. The musical instrument of claim 1 wherein: the interior surface ofsaid container includes opposed flat portions and intermediate curvedportions so disposed that said loose elements are caused to strike saidflat portions when said instrument is shaken in a first set ofdirections and are caused to move tangentially to said curved portionswhen said instrument is shaken in a second set of directions; and saidjingles are so mounted as to sound wipn' said-instrument' is shaken insome but not all of said second set of directions and so as to not soundwhen said instrument is shaken in some but not all of said first set ofdirections,

whereby said instrument is adapted for selective generation of elementstriking sounds, jingle sounds and simultaneous striking and jinglesounds depending upon the direction in which it is shaken.

1. A musical instrument comprising: a closed container having a plurality of loose elements contained therein and adapted when said instrument is shaken to strike the interior surface of said container and to generate a first sound; a plurality of jingles and means supporting said jingles in a plurality of pairs with said jingles adapted when shaken to generate a second sound; and means securing said jingle supporting means to said closed container.
 2. The musical instrument of claim 1 wherein said closed container is elongated and said jingle support means secure said jingles for shaking movement in directions substantially normal to the length of said container.
 3. The musical instrument of claim 2 wherein said paIrs of jingles are arranged laterally to the length of said closed container and in spaced relationship thereto.
 4. The musical instrument of claim 1 wherein said closed container is cylindrical and said jingle support means secure said jingles for shaking movement in directions substantially normal to the axis of said container.
 5. The musical instrument of claim 1 wherein said jingle support means comprise an elongated frame having spaced sidewalls and a plurality of said pairs of jingles are positioned between said sidewalls and supported upon pins extending through said pairs of jingles and having ends secured to said sidewalls.
 6. The musical instrument of claim 5 wherein said means securing said jingle support means to said container comprises a pair of end braces positioned at opposite ends of said jingle support means, each of said braces having means for engaging and supporting said container and said jingle support means in fixed relation to one another.
 7. The musical instrument of claim 6 further comprising an elongated rod extending longitudinally through said end braces and holding said end braces in engagement with said container and said jingle support means.
 8. The musical instrument of claim 1 wherein said container is so shaped internally that said instrument may be shaken in directions such as to cause said jingles to sound with causing said loose elements to strike any interior surfaces of said container with sufficient velocity normal to said surfaces to produce appreciable striking sounds.
 9. The musical instrument of claim 1 wherein said jingles are so mounted that said instrument may be shaken in directions such as to cause said loose elements to hit the interior surfaces to produce appreciable striking sounds without causing said jingles to generate appreciable jingle sounds.
 10. The musical instrument of claim 1 wherein: the interior surface of said container includes opposed flat portions and intermediate curved portions so disposed that said loose elements are caused to strike said flat portions when said instrument is shaken in a first set of directions and are caused to move tangentially to said curved portions when said instrument is shaken in a second set of directions; and said jingles are so mounted as to sound when said instrument is shaken in some but not all of said second set of directions and so as to not sound when said instrument is shaken in some but not all of said first set of directions, whereby said instrument is adapted for selective generation of element striking sounds, jingle sounds and simultaneous striking and jingle sounds depending upon the direction in which it is shaken. 